And the last permaculture principle is: Creatively use and respond to change. Things change all the time. Change can not be avoided. You may as well embrace it. The picture above is an experiment we did with cob rocket stoves. We wanted to build 3 burners, but were’nt really sure …

Think about two different eco systems: a forest and a meadow. The forest is full of larger trees an d larger animals, while the meadow is full of smaller plants and animals. The two habitats provide very different needs for the different animals. Now think about where the meadow meets …

Principle number 10…Use and value diversity. I find this principle to very closely related to number 8, integrate rather than segregate. In order to integrate, you need to have diversity. Integrating has more to do with building systems and diversity is more about having many different options for your needs …

Slow Down!….is permaculture principle number 9. Everything going on in the world seems to have to be so big and so fast. I moved out of town to slow down, why not apply that to my homestead building? My biggest example of small and slow solutions are my hugelkultur beds. …

Much of modern agriculture is large, monoculture farms. Monoculture means that the farms produce one crop in mass quantities, like corn or wheat. Permaculture focuses more on polyculture. This means to grow many crops all together as one big happy family. There are a few reasons why polyculture works so …

Permaculture principle number 7 is design from patterns to details. A huge part of permaculture is following the patterns of nature. Nature does things in a way that runs smoothly and efficiently. It does not produce unusable waste or take in excess, usually. Following the patterns of nature should help …

The next permaculture principle is produce no waste. No wasting things can be anything from recycling to being efficient and not wasting time. Much of the “waste” we produce can be used for other things with just a little creativity. One of the most obvious sources of waste is simply …

The fourth principle of permaculture is to apply self regulation and accept feedback. Self regulation is about mimicing the systems of nature to form your own living systems. Natural systems take what they need to grow and reproduce and not more. These systems can adapt to change, which is accepting …

The most obvious example of “obtain a yield” is to grow food. You do work planting, growing, maintaining, and harvesting a garden to get a yeild. Amazing food that you can eat and then store the excess to eat through the winter. Simple, right? We can make it a little …

The second permacuture principle is catch and store energy. When you think of “catch and store energy,” solar power tends to be the first thing that comes to mind. This is a great start, but energy that can be caught and stored can be so much more than just solar. …